Tag Archives: concealer

Recently the UK press have been having a field day over a photo of Angelina Jolie at The Normal Heart premier with a white substance on her face and neck.

This is the photo

The press have been commenting about how her makeup artist should be sacked for not blending correctly and that Brad was mean for not telling her she had white powder on her face … neither of which are accurate.

The powder that was used is likely to be a HD (silica based) powder, these are amazing and flawless in natural light and with HD cameras but flash photography will cause a white appearance.

I’ve been caught out by this myself …

Yep, I learnt the hard way about HD powders under flash photography!

To the naked eye, these powders create a flawless appearance. They are usually very finely milled and so are perfect for setting concealer in problematic areas. Just don’t use them if you’re going to be photographed with a flash!

Whilst HD (silica based) powders will cause this extreme white effect, it isn’t the only makeup that can problems under a flash. Foundations with high levels of SPF, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or with ‘light reflecting’ qualities can also cause flashback, it won’t be as intense as the photos above but it will cause a bright appearance to your face in pictures.